As part of my 7 Summit conquest, Elbrus was the first one. Splendid expedition, very good organization and , of course, when you travel with Alpine Ascents your are in 1st Class at the mountains with a 1st Class Guide: Vernon Tejas.

Went to the saddle. We had very bad weather. During our stay 4 feet (1.3 meters) of snow fell. Summit day was clearer, but very cold, -19 with a windchill in the -50's. No-one made the summit in our group of 12, many returned with frostbite. See TRIP REPORT.

Very stormy and white-out conditions also. Under 7hrs from the small huts. I was the only solo American climber around. Not to many Gringo's around so I hooked up with a Canada climber. We spent only 4 days on the mountain. It helps your ascent if you avoid taking the tram/chailift with your GEAR!

Excellent climb, terrible weather conditions day before. On summitday beautifull morning but almost whiteout conditions on summit. Heavy wind and rather cold. Loved being on Elbrus, she is a very, very tough but wonderfull lady.

Route Climbed: Standard route, and east summit Date Climbed: first time July, 2000

I have been fortunate enough to have climbed Elbrus 14 times as a guide, including 4 ski descents. What a beautiful area, and what good people live there. Great skiing in winter as well as spring skiing in May, June and early July, and consider climbing the East summit too. Great hiking in the area. Shashlik (shishkabob), especially the lamb, is great. Go to the "dome" in Terskol, or the Deep Purple bar in the basement of the Hotel Cheget for entertainment. I'm happy to answer questions about the area: tom@mountelbrus.com, or try my local friends' website www.go-elbrus.com .

Bad weather (snowstorm and strong wind) in summit night, which stopped right before sunrise when we were close to saddle. In return we had a sunny morning on summit, although still very strong wind, and a really nice warm and sunny weather on our way down. Long climb, nothing really interesting, fast changing weather. I liked other parts of Caucasus much more than Elbrus.

Summitted via the normal route with Eugene our Ukrainian guide and survived OK without much acclimatisation. Day 1 in the Baksan Valley, Day 2 to Pastukhova rocks, Day 3 below Pastukhova rocks, Day 4 to the summit. We left the Diesel Hut relatively late at 5am to avoid the cold as much as possible, the sun was hot and didn’t need too many clothes on summit. 7 hours up, 3 hours down.

There have been so many people going up over the past weeks that an easy trail to the top exists. We didn't need ice axes, just ski poles and crampons. Great views across the Caucasus, great time on the mountain. Thanks to my Dad for sharing the experience.